What's that pronounced like?
(Silly question I know, but I've been wondering...)

Chris

It looks like it should be "Oh-FEE-uh-cuhs"

But that first U may be long. I don't know. Sometime someone posted a page that has astronomy pronounciations; here's hoping I can find it again.

[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

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Jeff Schwarz
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Argh!! They booby-trapped their sun!!****--Invader ZIM

Ophiuchus is pronounced: Oh-fee-YOU-cuss (accent on the third syllable). Astrologers do not realize that Ophiuchus has been added to the Sun Signs (those crossing the Ecliptic). All of the Sun Signs have changed radically over the past two thousand years, making the present Zodiac pretty silly, at best.

Both of a friend of mine's children are Ophiuchans (which is great way for them to surprise silly astrologers whenever they are asked *What's your sign?* by a unprepared *astrology true believer*.)

There is a great list of the (1) traditional and the (2) actual Sun Signs in the CAMBRIDGE GUIDE TO THE CONSTELLATIONS.

ljbrs [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]

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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: ljbrs on 2001-10-26 19:29 ]</font>

Now how do you pronouce "ljbrs"? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

My dictionary says Off-ee-YOU-cuss (secondary accent first syllable), with a second pronunciation as Oh-fee-YOU-cuss (secondary accent first syllable). Not much difference.
Do they use the nonprecessed value as in the other signs, or the current value? My astonomy sw shows the sun in Ophiuchus from about Nov. 30 to Dec. 18. Is that when their birthdays occur? Of course, not all the current definitions of constellations are thirty degrees wide either.

Polaris [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

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Any day you wake up on "the right side of the dirt" is a good day.

T. Anderson

Thanks.

Chris

Those are my initials. l j b r s

ljbrs [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Someone on the old board once posted a link with star and constellation pronunciations available in little .wav files. I still have the address, but I keep getting a "403 Forbidden" error code on it now.

Don't know what's going on. I'm posting the link to see if anyone else is able to access it. Or if anyone has an updated or similar site, feel free to throw it on.

http://www.starstuff.com/

PS: The name that always gave me the most trouble was Camelopardalis. (kam-el-la-PARD-a-lis)

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...And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped. --Sir Bedevere

Try "Bootes". I always thought it was "Booties"; but recently read it is "Boo-aut-ays". Nobody knows what you are talking about.

Hey, whaddaya know, the link I gave above no longer gives an error message. Instead it brings up a message which says "Back Soon". So maybe they're working to get it up again. I hope so. I sometimes wonder about the pronunciation of stars and constellations myself.

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...And that, my liege, is how we know the Earth to be banana-shaped. --Sir Bedevere

Lemme guess. They're all silent. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

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Valiant Dancer

Referring to astrology (and I don't want a long hijack here), while many astrologers use standard sun signs, my brother was showing off recently a book he was reading that defines the signs very differently, based of birth year. So even though my sister and I have birthdays 4 days apart, we are different signs because of year.

Just wanted to point out that there are some astrologers with different systems that do take into account changes. I don't know how updated the star configurations and such are, though.

Every time I see ljbrs I assume (making ***/u/me)it's pronounced Lidge-burrs.
I don't know that there is such a thing as a cold lidge, but who knows? [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img] [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

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It's just one of those damn things of which there are many few. -- Dan Blocker

L-yeh-burrs. It's a snap for someone who had 2 semesters of Russian (which is all consonants anyway) 40 years ago.


<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: David Simmons on 2001-11-20 10:38 ]</font>

No, no, you're all wrong... it's Lee-bras (like the constellation, only plural).

OK Lidge. We've all speculated. Now it's your turn to 'fess up and tell us how YOU pronouceate ljbrs.

Is it anything like that olympic volleyball player from some years ago, Jan Stvrdlk. He pronounced his name Yon Stivverdlick (Sti-verd-lick). Now that I think about it, they had another guy on that team with a really unusual name, Karch Krylle. His first name rhymes with starch and his last was Ka-rye.

How's that for wandering off topic?


(the edit was to correct spelling)
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<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Russ on 2001-11-20 23:44 ]</font>

Folks:

O.K. I looked up *Ophiuchus* in a recently-mentioned (by me) *Cambridge Guide to the Constellations* (Cambridge University Press), and Ophiuchus was pronounced:

off ee oo' kus

which sounds fine to me. Years ago, I saw it pronounced

oh fee YOU cuss

which is a plausible variant. It was listed in a book which gave the pronunciations of all of the constellations in all of their forms.

I will go with the Cambridge Guide to the Constellations because it is probably a much better source.

Now, if you will just let me get back to working on my *horoscope* (however THAT is pronounced). Something was mentioned that I would be meeting sweet threads of ad hominems...

ljbrs (pronounced *ELL JAY BEE ARE ESS*)

Don't listen to the others. Harry Mudd had a regular cargo run to one of its stars, and he pronounced it "Oh-FYE-a-kus".

Hey, he's been there man.

;^)

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Free speech; exercise it or shut up!

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: The Rat on 2001-11-25 15:03 ]</font>

Hey, Russ, I think that guy's name is Karch Kiraly, not Krylle.

My dictionary says it's more like Bow-OH-tees, bow as in longbow.

My dictionary says Off-ee-YOU-cuss (secondary accent first syllable), with a second pronunciation as Oh-fee-YOU-cuss (secondary accent first syllable).
[/quote]

Indeed, the Latin scholars say that in real Latin the pronounce is Oh-fee-YOU-coos, like in 'Cook'.